Texas Partners for Conservation (TPC) FY 2021 Program Funding – NRCS Texas

Notice of Funding Opportunity Summary

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing the potential availability of funding for agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state-and-community-level conservation leadership. Proposals must be for projects based in Texas and focus on conservation issues as noted in Section A (2) of this notice. Collaborative projects that provide on-the-ground support for Texas NRCS Field Offices are highly encouraged. Research proposals will not be accepted, nor considered.

NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY2021 will be up to $300,000.00, however budget constraints may prevent NRCS from funding 2021 proposals. See Section C (1) for applicant eligibility. Competitive consideration of awards for projects are between 3 and 5 years in duration. Awarded organizations will be required to attend administrative training and may be required to present project updates in the form of a formal presentation to the Texas NRCS Leadership. Organizations may use this opportunity to request additional funding for existing Texas Partners for Conservation agreements.

This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for projects. Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete and/or noncompliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant. In addition to the information in this opportunity, more information can be found at the following website: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/tx/people/partners/?cid=nrcseprd1750632.

For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D.1. for information about steps required before submitting an application via Grants.gov.

Key Dates

Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 1, 2021. For technical issues with Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts. Questions regarding this notice of funding opportunity (NFO) may be submitted until May 1, 2021. Responses to questions posed will be posted on Grants.gov approximately two weeks before the application due date.

NRCS anticipates hosting an informational webinar regarding this NFO. Additional details will be posted at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/tx/people/partners/.

The agency anticipates making selections by July 9, 2021 and expects to execute awards by September 15, 2021.

Federal Funding Floor and Ceiling Amounts

The funding floor for this opportunity is $25,000.00, and the funding ceiling is $75,000.00. The funding floor means the minimum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded. The ceiling is the maximum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded. These numbers refer to the total agreement amount, not any specific budget period.

Federal Financial Assistance Training

The funding available through this NFO is Federal financial assistance. Grants 101 Training is highly recommended for those seeking knowledge about Federal financial assistance. The training is free and available to the public via https://www.cfo.gov/grants-training/. It consists of five modules covering each of the following topics: 1) laws, regulations, and guidance; 2) financial assistance mechanisms; 3) uniform guidance administrative requirements; 4) cost principles; and 5) risk management and single audit. Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) agencies also apply Federal financial assistance regulations to certain non-assistance awards (e.g., non-assistance cooperative agreements).